FC Goa were eliminated from their debut AFC Champions League campaign in the group stage after Al Wahda beat Persepolis in an important fixture. Nevertheless, Goa head coach Juan Ferrando is pleased with the performance put in by his team.
“I am happy with what the players are doing. We can learn. We cannot do the same mistakes again. It’s good to play in such competitions. When we analyse, we can look at the mistakes and find a solution during training on the pitch,”
he said, via TOI.
FC Goa drew their latest group stage encounter against Al Rayyan. Laurent Blanc’s side snatched an equalizer late into the match, thus cancelling out Jorge Ortiz’s early goal. As a result, Goa remained winless in the tournament.
Ferrando stated that it was difficult to deal with the fact that his team lost points at the last minute. However, he also claimed that his side was faced with some of the continent’s best football clubs, who play in the ACL regularly.
“Of course, it’s difficult when you lose [points] in the last minute. But the truth is we are playing against very good teams. It’s a pleasure to play against Persepolis, Al Wahda and Al Rayyan. These teams play continental football and for us, it’s a pleasure. There were some mistakes and it’s important to control.”
he claimed.
FC Goa will face Al Wahda in their final group stage match of the 2021 AFC Champions League. Ferrando’s team has drawn three of their five matches in the competition so far, including the reverse fixture against the Qatari side.
However, two losses against Iran giants Persepolis knocked back their qualification campaign, and their elimination was later confirmed when Al Wahda defeated Persepolis, thus securing a top-two spot.
